1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to transaction execution systems, and more particularly to such systems having a central data base at a host data processing system in communication with remote terminals to permit the execution of transactions such as the issuance of cash or the inter-account transfer of funds in response to entry of a personal identification number together with a machine-readable identification card issued by any one of a plurality of cooperating institutions.
2. History of the Prior Art
Transaction execution systems which enable the performance of transactions such as cash issuance at terminals remote from and in communication with a host data processing system having a central data base in which account and other information is stored are well known. Examples of such systems are provided by U.S. Pat. No. 3,956,615 of Anderson et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,970,992 of Boothroyd et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,925 of Boothroyd, U.S. Pat. No. 3,931,497 of Gentile et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,004,134 of Hwang, U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,014 of Goldberg, U.S. Pat. No. 4,025,760 of Trenkamp, U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,013 of Kinker, U.S. Pat. No. 3,727,186 of Stephenson, Jr., et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,091,448 of Clausing, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,186,871 of Anderson et al.
The various transaction execution systems described in the above-noted patents and application constitute a variety of different approaches to the problem of providing a secure and yet versatile transaction to take place at any one of the terminals remote from the host data processing system. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,956,615 of Anderson et al which is commonly assigned with the present application, various transactions are performed at the terminal upon verification of the propriety of the transaction and the authenticity of the consumer based on entry of a credit card identifying the consumer and an issuing financial institution and entry of a personal identification number (PIN) by the consumer. The system verifies the personal identification number with identification information on the credit card using an encryption code determined by the financial institution identified by the card. In an improvement on that system which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,186,871 of Anderson et al, the host data processing system includes a virtual financial institution table (VFIT). Upon entry by a consumer of a credit card and personal identification number the financial institution table (FIT) within the terminal is searched in an attempt to locate an entry corresponding to the institution identified by the credit card. If a corresponding entry is located, data from the fields for that entry is used to encrypt the personal data from the credit card for purposes of verification of the personal identification number entered by the consumer. If a corresponding entry is not located in the financial institution table, a search of the virtual financial institution table at the host is made. If a corresponding entry is located in the virtual financial institution table, the included data is communicated back to the terminal where it is used in the verification of the personal identification number. The Clausing patent provides an example of a system where time sharing of a central processor or a local processor serving one or a handful of terminals it utilized to execute transaction requests. In the former case transactions are executed at the central processor on an on-line basis, while in the latter case transactions are executed at the regional or local processor on an off-line basis.
Transaction execution systems provide one solution to the persistent problem of how to provide the customers of a financial institution with more functions without substantially increasing costs. Such systems attempt to solve this problem by automating simple functions like cash withdrawal, deposit and the like so as to reduce the time that the customer must spend with a teller. This reduces the number of tellers an institution needs, and accordingly the costs. If the transaction execution system can provide enough functions, it can even reduce the number of branches of the financial institution which are needed, in addition to extending the institution's banking hours for normal transactions without actually increasing the number of hours that the buildings themselves must be kept open.
Considering these objectives present transaction execution systems suffer from a number of limitations which limit their versatility and applicability to a variety of different situations. For example, conventional systems are limited in the number and types of functions that they can perform. Transactions such as bill paying which require transfer of funds between accounts are extremely difficult if not impossible to perform. Further problems arise from the fact that a financial institution wishing to enable its customers to perform functions different from those permitted by other institutions sharing the same system must typically acquire its own terminal system including controller. This is quite wasteful when it is considered that a number of financial institutions can otherwise share the same terminal system by accepting a standard set of key functions and display messages. The key functions themselves are limited so that even in instances where an institution can customize the available transactions and messages the number and types of functions are still unduly limited. Most systems limit performance of the functions to the terminal level, and in the process fail to provide the type of communication with the terminal or information storage within the terminal which enables such things as repeated interchange of data requests and data entries between the terminal and attached consumer operated keyboards, displays customized for a particular institution or customer and other activities capable of customization for the institution or consumer. Those conventional systems which permit communication between the terminal and the host data processing system during execution of the transactions tend to limit the interchange of information between the two because of such things as time and storage constraints so as to again limit the type and variety of functions capable of being performed. One such problem relates to the transmission of lengthy display messages from the host to the terminal during transaction execution. Because of this problem a number of predetermined standard messages must typically be stored in the terminal during initialization of the system, with the system thereafter relying on the standard messages stored in the terminal for communication with the consumer during execution of the transactions. In such systems the ability to communicate between the host and the consumer on a going, on-line basis and to compose messages custom-designed for a particular consumer or institution is lacking.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved transaction execution system.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a transaction execution system capable of greater and more varied functions. This object includes the ability to provide a variety of diverse functions to be performed at the terminal complete with a full interchange of data between the terminal and consumer, as well as the ability to utilize the host data processing system when necessary to accomplish certain functions.
Further objects in accordance with the invention include the ability to customize functions for each of a plurality of different financial institutions sharing the same terminal system, and the ability to customize display messages to a particular consumer during various transactions.
Still further objects in accordance with the invention include the ability to communicate messages between the host and the terminal in simplified form so as to minimize the transmission time involved in addition to the storage space required, particularly at the terminal where messages are desirably stored for use in providing displays to consumers as needed.